"We were four friends going back home after a long day at work. Thirsty, we went inside a road-side teashop and drank water from the jug. The owner came towards us angrily and started yelling. 'You are Doms, why are you drinking water from the jug?' Normally, I stay quiet and leave during such a situation but that day I could not. I told the man that even though he may not accept us, he had to look at the color of his blood. Then he will know the truth that we are all equal. But the man was not willing to listen. He said, 'Do not lecture me. Go away from here and do not come back again.
"I am good at Maths. I have liked the numbers from when I was little. Even though I am not a little kid anymore, I still love counting marbles. But counting money is my favourite thing to do. I think that is why my father leaves the shop to me when he sees me idling. He knows that I will not return more or take less for the goods bought or sold. One of these days, I will also have to tell father what inventory to keep. He keeps buying things that are slow to sell. You see, he is a simple farmer and not a clever businessman. But not to worry.
"I know her struggles and she knows my troubles. We are different but one. She is also a teacher and I also have followed in her footsteps. We both work to make things easier for the women in the community and we believe by doing that we are making things better for men too. We are examples of women who can lead and bring about positive changes in the community. You do not have to go far. We are everywhere."
(Jeewansari Gharti Pun and Sun Kumari Pun, Lukum, Rukum Purba)
#TheFutureIWant
SON X UN
"No one should pity me for such is not my position. I have worked hard, in the heat of the fields and the cold of home. Sometimes harvesting my own rice and sometimes that of the landowners nearby. Sometimes running my own shop and sometimes boiling sugarcane for my neighbour. I have even encouraged my husband to save money and it was me who suggested that he go abroad to have a steady income. And now, with his savings and mine, we have managed to buy some land. I am able to send my two sons and daughter to school. I am a young mother. I never got a chance to go to school.
"What they become is not for us to say. They have their freedom. To be there for them will be our duty."
(Jamsari Pun and Tara Pun, Lukum, Rukum Purba)
#TheFutureIWant
SON X UN
"I am a 30-year-old Faguni Sada. I am not doing much these days. I used to labor for wages. Sometimes in the fields and sometimes building houses, carrying bricks and mixing cement and sand. I prefer mixing sand and cement to carrying bricks. The load is not heavy and it is safer. Carrying the load of bricks is difficult and if it falls, I could hurt myself. But since the lockdown, not much is going on.
"I used to sell big fish. But now I sell small ones. Big fishes cost big money and I am a simple investor with only some money. With small fishes the return is fast. I come here at the border and meet the merchant who brings the fish from across the river in India. I then take it to the market in Janakpur to sell.
"I worked as a helper in a gas plant in Qatar but soon after my employer designated me as security personnel, I started to question my decision of leaving home. The heat was unbearable and the working condition was harsh. If I died for the sake of money, there would be no one who would rescue my family. So one day, I decided to leave.
"I feel happy when I read. The stories in my Nepali book are the ones I like the most because they are happy stories. There is no fighting in it. I do not like reading sad stories. I also don't like reading about people fighting. And I don't want people to fight."
Badi Tole, Jay Prithvi NP 10, Chainpur, Bajhang
#TheFutureIWant
SON X UN
"I left my teaching job to attend to my three children. I used to teach in school, now I teach at home. Although I miss being out, it is good to be close to my kids and see them run amok in front of my eyes. It feels good to see them go to school and wait for them, to see them hurriedly eat their snacks and run back to play again. Although I miss my friends and colleagues, I am happy to be a mother. But I miss being out. I also wish I could go back to university and study further. But that is a distant dream.
"When I came of age, I started to wonder why my father, a devout Buddhist named me after a Hindu god. It was my sister who told me that he had a strange liking for a name and although there was unspoken dissent in the family, it did not change his decision. My name further led me to enquire about my father’s life. I learnt that his father, my grandfather had died when he was very young and after that, he led a difficult life. I have vague memories of my father especially this time he came back from the forest.
"I teach Nepali at the Roji Khola Primary School. I also work as a social mobiliser. Along with the other women in the village, we make plans and projects to furnish to the ward office and ultimately ensure they are materialised at the grassroots level. Our primary target is to empower women. When I started, there were only men going to important meetings, and women were confined to the household. Not that men going to meetings decreases our value but we wanted to participate in activities outside of the household. You see, here in our community the household is controlled by women.